play

What a girl wants, what a girl needs
(소녀가 바라는 것, 소녀에게 필요한 것)
Whatever makes me happy and sets you free...
(무엇이든 행복하게 하고 자유롭게 해 줄 수 있는것)
What a girl wants, what a girl needs
(소녀가 바라는 것, 소녀에게 필요한 것)
Whatever keeps me in your arms
(무엇이든 당신의 팔에 안길 수 있게 하는 것)
I wanna thank you for giving me time to breathe
(난 숨을 돌릴 여유를 준 것에 대해 감사하고 싶어요)

Like a rock, you waited so patiently,
(바위같이 꾸준히 당신은 기다려줬죠)
while I got it together
(우리가 함께 하는 동안)
While I figured it out
(내가 이해할 수 있는 동안)
I only looked, but I never touched
(나는 단지 보기만 하고 만지지는 않았어요)
'Cause in my heart was a picture of us
(나의 마음은 우리의 모습인 것 같기에)
Holding hands, making plans
(손을 잡으며, 같이 의논하며)
And lucky for me, you understand
(그대가 이해를 해 주다니 전 운이 좋아요)

What a girl wants, what a girl needs
(소녀가 바라는 것, 소녀에게 필요한 것)
Whatever makes me happy and sets you free...
(무엇이든 행복하게 하고 자유롭게 해 줄 수 있는것)
And I'm thanking you for knowing exactly
(그대가 이해해주니 정말 고마워요)
What a girl wants, what a girl needs
(소녀가 바라는 것, 소녀에게 필요한 것)
Whatever keeps me in your arms
(무엇이든 당신의 팔에 안길 수 있게 해 주는 것)
And I'm thanking you for being there for me
(그대가 나를 위해 해준 것 정말 고마워요)

A weaker man might have walked away
(약한 남자는 떠나 버렸겠죠)
But you had faith strong enough to move
(하지만 그대에겐 절 감동시킬 신념이 있었어요)
Over and understand while I got it together
(함께 하는 동안)
While I figured it out
(내가 이해할 수 있는 동안)
They say, "If you love something, let it go
(사람들은 누군가를 사랑한다면 보내라고 하죠)
If it comes back, it's yours; that's how you know."
(만약 돌아온다면 그는 당신 것이죠)
It's for keeps, yeah, it's

"What a Girl Wants" is the second single from Christina Aguilera's debut album, Christina Aguilera. Released in late 1999, the single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, becoming Aguilera's second number-one single. The single also peaked at number three in the UK and at number five in Australia. Often considered one of her signature songs, the single is most known for establishing Aguilera's placement in the music industry. Many critics had written off the success of her last single, "Genie in a Bottle", as a fluke; "What a Girl Wants" proved that Aguilera wasn't a one-hit wonder. The single earned her five MTV Video Music Awards nominations; Best Female Video, Best New Artist, Best Pop Video, Viewer's Choice, and Best Choreography (Tina Landon), and also a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2001.

Chart success

After the massive success of Aguilera's number-one debut single "Genie in a Bottle", there was pressure for its follow-up to succeed, as well. "What a Girl Wants" proved to be another big hit, though not to quite the same degree as "Genie in a Bottle". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot 100 Singles Sales charts for two weeks, and peaked at number two on the Hot 100 Airplay; the single's strong sales would later assure it a gold certification. Once again, the song was an all-around huge hit, topping the Top 40 Tracks, Top 40 Mainstream and Rhythmic Top 40 charts. It is also the first song to top the Billboard Hot 100 at the turn of the millennium, giving it a place in history.

A CD Maxi Single release late into the song's run helped the song peak at number two on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales; unfortunately in terms of club play, the song was not as successful peaking at number eighteen on Hot Dance Club Play. There are several different versions of "What a Girl Wants" including the Adult Contemporary Mix which includes lyrics from the video version, but a track closer the original album version.

Elsewhere, the single fared success within the top twenty in most countries. The single also reached #1 in New Zealand, where it held that position for 5 consecutive weeks. During the week of 13 March, 2000, Aguilera visited the country while the single remained at #1. This single sold over 4,367,000 million copies worldwide.

Charts Chart (1999) Peak
position Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles 5 Austrian Top 75 Singles 22 Brazil Top 100 Singles 21 Canadian Top 100 Singles 5 Dutch Top 40 14 Finnish Top 20 Singles 12 French Top 100 Singles 11 German Top 100 Singles 18 Irish Top 50 Singles 6 New Zealand RIANZ Top 50 Singles 1 Swedish Top 60 Singles 24 Swiss Top 100 Singles 17 UK Official Top 75 Singles 3 Euro 200 Singles & Tracks 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 31 United World Chart 1